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© All personal images and words copyrighted 2007–2008 by Jessica Jones unless otherwise credited. You're very welcome to link to this blog. Please don't take any of my designs, artwork, or photos for commercial use. But do go nuts making any of the projects I've listed for your own personal use.

I had my (almost) 34 week appointment this afternoon. Baby Garlando is doing great and weighing in at 5 pounds 4 ounces! My cervix is still rotten but thankfully it's holding steady a little bit longer. If my FFN results come back negative on Friday (have to wait because of the holiday), I'm a FREE WOMAN! Woo hoo! :) Take a look at my sweet girl, I think she looks like her big sis!

Okay, summer is here and I'm starting to get into the groove. It takes me a little while (just getting some laundry done and some clutter cleaned up is a top priority) but yesterday was good and we did an activity. These are homemade fingerpaints; I got the recipe here. These were fun to make with ingredients we had on hand, and they really worked!Mixing the dry ingredients together. After that we added the water and I cooked it on the stove. The mixture thickens nicely. Really, working with cornstarch is so satisfying, isn't it? The boys got to help again when it was time to color the mixture with food coloring.At first they weren't sure what to do, so I demonstrated on a separate sheet (which was fun, and I think it's important for us adults to play too. And I love this kind of "art" where there is no expectation of it being one particular way or another).Then the boys really started getting into it.Don't you love their young hands?Even baby Rainer got the hang of it.The finished paintings. I was surprised--these dried nicely. I was afraid they'd stay wet and congealed, but they really did dry.And now we have extra (stored in the fridge) for another day. I'm convinced these would make great tub paints too, and we may try that soon. For today, I want to try this--I think they'll love it.Other summer goings-on:::in an effort to have an early bedtime, I realize that we can't pack too much into the evenings. Taking an evening walk with the boys is a top priority for Ken and me, so I've moved bathtime to the morning. It's so much more relaxed!::I'm reading this cookbook from the library. So fun to peruse. I love how he addresses just about everything you'd want to make and has developed a "master recipe" for each thing.::we'll be celebrating summer solstice on the 19th (it's really the 20th this year) with our usual tea. I'm planning the menu--little sandwiches, little meat pies, deviled eggs, and maybe these, which look so yummy.::the orange juice ice pops were a huge hit (shown in this post) and I whipped out another batch last night. I can't believe how delicious and healthy they are, and I love having a use for our navel oranges which are at the end of their season and need to be used up.

The overwhelming majority said turquoise, and because I am basically lazy, I decided to go along with the majority. I liked the suggestions to paint it the same color as the wall, and if I start hating this, maybe that's what I'll do, although I think if I start hating this, that will be motivation to take the time to look and find something I really love. I've got lots of little pops of turquoise, yellow and green around the room, so for now this fits in just fine. Five people actually called me weird and my sconces hideous. It's okay though, I can take it.

I can't believe the week is almost over.  We have had so much fun.  He is just the sweetest soul I have ever come across.  He makes me laugh every single time I look at him.  We spent his last full day together making daisy chains and letting him ride around the yard in big fat soap bubbles.  I am not looking forward to giving him back.  Go back to Mexico!  Shoo!  Look!  Over there?  Is that a margarita??Sigh.  We never did get tattoos.

Salt and Chocolate has an easy little tutorial on how to make homemade stickers!  These are the kind that are like postage stamps so you can make a bunch ahead of time and have a whole stash available whenever you need them.  Think of the possibilities!

My name is Jane and I live in a seaside town in Devon, England. I'm a mother to 3 lovely children and I'm happily married to Anthony. I work part-time as a Teaching Assistant and the rest of the time I can be found sewing, treasure hunting, crocheting, gardening and re-painting the furniture.